After waving Robert Lewandowski off into the sunset at the end of last season, Barcelona are in need of a new striker. The only one on their books scored the winner in the World Cup final. Julián Alvarez is at the centre of a Spanish tug of war this summer – he wants to leave Atlético Madrid and is wanted by Barcelona and Real Madrid, who had a £129m bid rejected in June. With Atlético suits so far refusing to sit down with Joan Laporta for talks in a fashionable Catalan restaurant, the Barça president is beginning to look elsewhere.
Naturally, Laporta’s attention has turned to Bournemouth. Eli Junior Kroupi had an outstanding first season in English football and is said to be the basis of Barcelona’s Plan B up front. Bournemouth insist the 20-year-old is not for sale and, according to reports, value the striker at £110m anyway – about the going rate for a good young player in the Premier League. Other European heavyweights such as Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and, er, Tottenham are circling. Chelsea’s João Pedro is said to be an unrealistic Plan C for Barça. Maybe Plan D was Danny Welbeck.
